"Now that's interesting."  Darwin smiled as he looked at the barrels of the guns his officers were pointing at him.  "Where did they come from?"

Wilks, McGill and Tara looked from their commanding officer to their weapons.  When they'd entered the building, they had been unarmed.  Now each of them had a suspiciously new service pistol, holster at their belt, spare ammo clip in their breast pocket.  And then they hadn't.  Each held a banana.

"Right.  ladies, gentlemen, officers.  I'm going to break with protocol for a second here because I think it's better to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.  Especially since we're currently unable to ask for permission.  So.  The situation is this."  Darwin held up one hand, started counting off points on his fingers.  "One, Brucatto and O'Hara have gone in pursuit of our original target for the evening.  B, The theatre has been separated from Edinburgh as we all know it, so our conventional exit options have been removed.  C or three, depending, There's something strange going on with the audience as a whole, from what I can tell they're being used as a power source for one almighty spell which means that... Four, we have a duty to fix whatever is going on in here, get these civillians out - no offence, sir," this last was directed at Ryan, "madam," and then Lucy, "and save as many of the audience members as possible.  Fifth, we need to restore the connection between this building and Edinburgh Prime.  There's going to be Fishermen in here, agents of whatever wants the spell to work and probably half-a-dozen other opportunistic types looking to take advantage of the situation."  He looked around the group from stunned face to stunned face.  "I know. But this is pretty much par for the course.  Now.  I've got the kernel of a plan forming but I'm open to ideas.  Let's thrash through what we know and what we've guessed, see where it takes us in the next ten minutes."

"Finally, someone who actually wants to do something about this mess. I don't know what's happening here but until a few minutes ago we," Peter swept his arm to indicate himself, James, and Ryan, somehow missing Lucy, "were on a tour. Now we're being told a week has passed. We just want to know what is going on and what are you lot going to do about it."

"Sir, the first thing.  The most important thing.  One could say the key thing, indeed,"  Darwin paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, "Is to relax.  Getting panicked about all of this is unlikely to help when the bananas start to fly.  What is going on, in the broadest sense, would take a considerable amount of time to explain and we are in the process of planning what we are going to do about it."

Yolanda eyed the others speculatively, waiting for each to offer comment or suggest a course of action.

McGill stared sourly at the offending fruit and tossed it in disgust. At Darwin's request, he said, with a touch of sarcasm, "Being just a rookie and all, my input's probably not worth much, but is there a chance that what's going on is related to our original reason for being here? The facts that our one lead in the investigation just happens to be in the building and that Mr. Cross and Miss Talbot, also related to the investigation, just happen to show up in the same building after a week's disappearance seems just a bit too coincidental."

Darwin flashed McGill a broad smile.  "Your opinion probably counts for more than anyone's - you don't know what's not possible yet.  I agree.  It's entirely too coincidental for my liking that all these events converge here.  I don't see all the connections yet but they'll be there."

Ryan had been staring in confused disbelief at each person as they spoke, brows lowering with each passing comment. "What?!" he finally exclaimed, infusing in that single word all the annoyance, bewilderment, frustration and incredulousnes he'd felt as this insane night had gone past.

"They don't seem to want to answer that." Peter said, anger boiling beneath the surface of his eyes.

"And why do you care if there are fishermen here? How could you tell them apart?   I mean, its not as if they'd wear waders to a play..."  James added, bemused.  "And more to the point... what is your original reason for being here?"  he addressed McGill.

"Pardon my inquisitiveness but whom is it you are referring to in the 'They' you mention; and what is it they don't want to answer." Yolanda asked directing her question to Peter.

Peter rolled his eyes in a "you have got to be kidding me" manner then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ma'am, I don't know who you are and, unless you can tell me what is going on here, I don't really care. I have had one hell of a strange night and I'm not in the mood for questions."

"I do not you either Sir..." Yolanda replied curtly in responce to the mans obvious lack of manners. "If you don't know whats goning on; antagonising others is a good way to encourage them to share their knowledge with you" she added in a calmer manner; pausing to allow him to consider his behaviour and apologise.

"I need a drink." Peter said to no one in particular as he turned away from the odd woman and back to the officers. "Can we try this again? All I want to do is file a complaint and go home. Can any of you help me with that?"

Atypical of a whining ill mannered alcoholic, she thought as she fixed the constable a warm yet with sympathetic smile.

Todd couldn't help it; his mouth quirked into a smile as he watched the mouthy wanker get taken down a peg by the strange blue-skinned girl.

He wiped the smile off as he addressed Peter. "If you'd been paying attention, sir, you'd understand that we can't get out of the theater right now. We're making every effort to make sure you and the other folk trapped in here make it home safe, but we need your cooperation, which right now means you stop whingeing and shut up unless you've got something useful to say." The last was said with a little more force than would be considered professional.

"Constable, I've been paying attention and I still have no idea in hell what is going on." Peter said much calmer than he felt. "None of what little we've been told makes any sense whatsoever and every time we ask a question we get ignored or told some wild story. Yes, I'm a little irate right now, I'll admit it but something was done to us on that tour and none of you lot seem to want to do anything about it."

McGill acknowledged Peter's attempt at civility by modulating his own tone. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, what we've been telling you is the truth. If we're not immediately attending to your needs, it's because we're dealing with a bit more citical situation right now."

He added with biting sarcasm, "And as for your tour, I'm well aware of how dodgy it was. If you recall, your guides left me behind as a bleeding sacrifice."

Ryan was staring at the floor shaking his head as the others were speaking. When he looked up, it was at Darwin. "None of what anyone has said pretty much all night, including now, has made a lick of sense. None of it." His voice was low, hushed. "I don't care about anything right now but getting back to my hotel and going to sleep. Since you seem to be saying more than most, I'll wager that puts you in charge." He sighed heavily. "No more talking about what has already happened, cause it's not helping. How bout we just do whatever it is we got to do to get the hell out of here." 

Lucy looked back and forth between the constables and the tour group with a growing sense of agitation. She had thought this nightmare of a tour was finally over and now it seemed it was really just getting going again. She wanted to ask why they were looking for her and what exactly it was she was supposed to have done, but after seeing how Peter and Ryan were being treated she doubted seriously that she even wanted to hear the answer.

She wasn’t even wholly convinced that these were constables at all. It seemed possible to her that these people were just more actors sent by Pepper and Ghost to make sure the complaints about the tour never made it to the actual police. And, if that was the case, maybe, she thought, they could just play this out and go home.

"Umm, excuse me," she said to Darwin, "This may sound ridiculous, sorry, I know you said we're stuck here, but umm, it might help if you could at least tell us *how* or *why* it is that we are stuck here, and then, maybe more to the point, what would need to happen for us to be unstuck." She was hoping the answer wasn't going to be along the lines of 'we need another sacrifice' but at this point even that would make more sense than the allusions to spells and fisherman.

Yolanda agreed with the views and statement of the other woman, nodding acknowledgement of her support. "Indeed this situation is obviously beyond the scope of any Government Organisation to deal with. Otherwise they would have neutralised it already.  As this is the case one would surmise any information about the situation should be provided for all to consider" Looking about at the others "I'd say we all would welcome an opportunity to offer suggestions about ways to deal with this situation."

Peter leaned in to speak with Ryan and James without being overheard. "What do you want to bet she's involved with the tour somehow." He said indicating the blue skinned women. "Who on Earth talks like that."

"I don't care," Ryan began, eyes flashing, He raised his hands, shaking his head furiously. "Look! Just stop it, alright? I don't care about any of this... this..." he glared around the room "this unexplainable bullshit. No more talking. No more, alright? The how and the why don't matter anymore, cause if these people," and here he pointed at Darwin and company "knew the how and they and could do anything about it, they would have allready." 

He rounded on Darwin. "Look man, my aunt is dead, i've been wandering through a harry potter book for the last day, I'm really tired, and I just want to get out of this mess and back to my life, alright? No more ghosts! No more time traveling! No more frickin' lawyers who's feet don't touch the ground. No. More. Alright?"  He was almost shouting now, and that probably wasn't fair to these people. And yet.

And yet.

Face flushed, embarrassed at his own behavior but completely fed up to here, he glared at Darwin's shoulder. At one of the women's shoes. Anywhere but at a face. He would like to believe that all of this wasn't the fault of anyone standing next to him right now. But when impossible thing after impossible thing just kept... happening... how in the hell were you supposed to trust anyone? 

"If you can get us out of here, lead on. If you can't, get out of my way, cause I'm headed through the first door I see." he said wearily, finally locking gazes with Darwin. "Just God save me from any more of this trying to understand the un-understandable."

If that was even a word. 

Todd had stayed silent through the whole interchange, through Peter's angry retorts, Yolanda's calm meanderings, Lucy's concerned pleas, and now Ryan's outburst. He felt some sympathy for the young man's anxiety but didn't know how to ease it.

He himself had gotten maybe a week to absorb the insanity that now surrounded his life and he'd barely scratched the surface. How could he explain to them that the order and logic they'd spent their whole lives clinging to was as ephemeral as smoke, and still hold the hope of retaining their cooperation, never mind their sanity?

He fell back to the strategy he'd found most useful in the last week, and simply kept his mouth shut and observed.

Darwin passed a reassuring smile over the group.  It worked, the tension draining away as the silence continued.

"Ladies, gentlemen.  You're absolutely right.  I need to simplify things a little.  So.  Mr Cross, one of our teams is investigating the circumstances around your Godmother's death.  I will introduce you to the team in the morning, once we are out of the theatre.  Ms Talbot, I believe there is an open vacancy for you here in this city and I assure you that appointment will be worthwhile.  To all of you, we need to get you out of this theatre by the most direct route possible.  McGill?  If you would be so good as to take Tara and these civillians with you to the exit located in Prop Store B here in the basement.  It should be a short distance along the corridor I just came down.  It will take you into what appears to be a forest.  You should be able to get a retrieval team to collect you from there."  Darwin turned to Wilks.  "Wilks?  You're with me.  We'll re-group with the others, see if they've caught up with our original objective.  Questions?"

Todd frowned with concern. "Sir? Once we've gotten this lot safe and sound, how do we," he threw a quick glance at Tara, "re-group with you?"

" If things continue the way they have since arriving in the city; goodness knows what may happen trying to get out of this place...Shouldn't we all stick together..." Yolanda suggests.

"Concerns duly noted Miss, McGill.  We'll re-group at the station when we get there.  If I get there first, I'll send a retrieval team out for you.  If you get there first, you can do the same for the rest of us.  C'mon, Wilks."

Before anyone else could interrupt, Darwin and Wilks started off up the stairs and were quickly lost from sight.

"I'll take point," Tara opened the doors and peered down the corridor.  Seeing that it was clear, she turned to the group.  "Ladies and gentlemen, if you would follow me?  McGill, you can bring up the rear."

Todd nodded, acknowledging Tara's assumption of the leader position; she had the seniority, after all. He did wonder what the hell he could do if something bad tried to come up from behind them, beyond just being the first one to go down. Tara at least had her quick-healing trick to get her through. All he had was a seeming knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Prop Store B turned out to be almost empty.  Leaning against the back wall of the small store-room was a painted backdrop - must've come from a castle scene - grey stone, exaggerated blocks, a wooden door in the centre of it.

"That's our exit."  Tara grasped the door handle, turned, pulled.

Through the door, lit by bright moonlight, was a forest clearing some dozen or so yards across.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Botanica."  Tara stepped to one side to allow people through.

Peter was beyond being surprised and surveyed the view through the door with a resigned eye. After the events of the night it almost made sense for there to be a forest behind a door in a painted backdrop. There were only two explanations for what he was experiencing. Either someone had drugged him or he had lost his mind and was sitting in a mental ward somewhere. He might as well make the best of the situation.

"After you, ladies." Peter said, stepping to the side to allow them to enter first.

Even though she half expected the door to open to something other than a simple prop store, Lucy was still mildly surprised to see a forest clearing. "At least it's not a cemetary," she mumbled and then nodded to Peter and Tara as she stepped through. As she passed through the door she tried to get the sense of the transition and the feelings and sensations of the forest Possibility. She turned away from Peter and Tara and knelt down to feel the grasses of the clearing. Then she closed her eyes for a moment to better focus on her new surroundings. She was thinking this would be a nice quiet place to come to meditate some day when she got the feeling someone was watching her. She flushed slightly, stood up, and brushed herself off before turning back to see if the rest of the group had come through the doorway yet. 

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